Variant
by acidlungs
Summary: "Don't get me wrong this whole magic thing is the bee's knees I just think it's stupid to let, what was it you said? A talking hat? A talking bloody hat sort you into a house where you have to conform to that house's personality qualities or else you're considered an outsider? No thank you." Alice Kent is here to change things up a bit. Slowburn. Strong language. SBxOC & RLxOC
1. No thank you

"You said we wouldn't be the only ones."

"I lied."

A sigh left the smaller girl's lips as the taller of the two flashed a shit eating grin.

"I don't see the big problem about showing up in comfortable clothes, look at that boy over there he looks like he's suffocating." The taller girl shrugged as she pointed across the platform to a boy with slicked back white blonde hair.

"The stick up his arse has become his spine." She snickered as she watched his stiff movements.

"Alice! Don't let him hear you he's a _Malfoy_." The smaller girl warned and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Charlie, I know you've been teaching me about the magical world since you saw my pen float in primary school but how much of it do you think actually stuck?" Alice asked grinning at Charlie. While Charlie, or Charlotte as others knew her was a halfblood and had gone to muggle school up until her hogwarts letter arrived and that was where she meant Alice, an awkward girl who's socks never matched and tripped over thin air. Charlotte and Alice had always migrated towards each other, Alice had mentioned it could have been the magic's work, that and Charlotte was the only one who never teased Alice for her mismatching socks and hand-me-down uniforms.

"You know, one of the sacred 28." Charlie whispered and Alice's face twisted into a grimace as she stared at him.

"They actually meet all the standards they're held too." Charlie commented, a small grin on her lips as she looked over at her friend. Dressed in a baggy beatles shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants hung off her hips. Alice gasped and placed a hand on her chest, her mouth open and eyes wide at the playful insult.

"I. Am. _Insulted_." Alice scoffed before Charlie rolled her eyes at her friends dramatics.

"No, but really. There's standards for a stupid long train ride to the school, where we'll all change into our robes and wear the same exact thing, and be sorted into a house that dictates pretty much the rest of our lives?" Alice asked as she glanced at the train that sat in front of them. "Don't get me wrong this whole magic thing is the bee's knees I just think it's stupid to let, what was it you said? A talking hat? A talking bloody hat sort you into a house where you have to conform to that house's personality qualities or else you're considered an outsider? No thank you." Alice ranted and Charlie smiled at her friend.

"You'll be in Gryffindor." She laughed as Alice once again got into one of her rants. Charlotte was slightly nervous, Alice having convinced them to go to the train in lounge clothes insisting that there was no reason to dress to impress, 'We're probably going to sleep the whole trip anyways, Might as well sleep comfy.' She had said and being half awake Charlotte merely agreed not paying attention to what Alice had actually said. Alice felt the stares of some of the older witches and wizards, the girls from higher years trying to impress the boys and the pureblood families but they looked at everyone who didn't meet their expectations like that. and that. With Charlotte being a halfblood and willing to bet money that Alice was a muggleborn, those looks where to be expected and didn't bother Charlotte at the least. It was the other students looks that had made her nervous but as she stood with Alice, her ranting now above her normal voice level and her arms and hands moving as she talked Charlotte decided that it didn't matter what they thought as they saw Alice and her dressed in muggle lounge clothes. They were comfortable and everyone else could piss off.

"PREACH IT SISTER!" A passerby had yelled having hearing Alice's ranting on why you shouldn't let your house decide who and how you were.

"See, this guy knows." Alice said pointing a thumb over at the messy haired boy as he came over to the two.

"James Potter, first year." He introduced himself, holding out a hand to shake Alice's.

"Alice Kent, also first year." She smiled and looked over to Charlie.

"This is my mate Charlie Thorn." She introduced Charlie and James reached out to shake her hand too. With a smile Charlie shook his as well, with Alice around there was never anything for Charlotte to worry about.

* * *

Alice chewed on her lip as names were being called up to the sorting hat. From what she had gathered from the hat's song and everything she's heard from Charlie: The nerds go into ravenclaw, the goody two shoes go into Gryffindor, the pureblood and mean spirited go into Slytherin, and the outcasts go into Hufflepuff. She didn't know where she'd end up, at 11 years old she could barely say she knew herself enough to decide for herself. She could be considered a nerd, but only when the subject in question appealed to her. Charlie had joked about her being in Gryffindor but Alice wasn't so sure. Was she brave? She didn't know. Daring and nerve? Alice knew for sure she had that, she hardly backed down from anything and said whatever was on her mind most of the time. She was scared for slytherin, she didn't want to be stuck in with the purebloods, or 'the snakepit' as she had heard another student say but it made her quite sad. Alice had always somewhat adored snakes, thought they were cute and always wanted one as a pet but now at Hogwarts she settled with a rat she had named Jeremy. Alice was sly and cunning as a fox, she knew the right things to say to get out of a situation or make it go any which way she wanted; it all depended on her end goal. Alice glanced at the Hufflepuff table and smiled slightly, she had felt like an outsider in almost every situation she was in without Charlie, but loyalty she knew she had to her friends and the important people in her life. She heard her fellow first years whispering about dreading being in hufflepuff and she furrowed her eyebrows, being in a house that was known for its shared loyalty traits seems better than being in a house known for dark magic and evil. Alice was filled with anxiety as she thought about what house she'd be placed in, and even more as she pondered the thought of being split from Charlie, Alice reasoned that even though they were best friends and got along great their personalities weren't completely the same. A jab to her side woke Alice out of her thoughts as Charlie elbowed her once more.

"Alice Kent." A woman's voice called out and horror filled Alice as she realized it was now her turn. Alice stood up slowly and walked clumsily to the stool, not used to the robes she faltered in her steps as she stepped on the tail end of it stumbling to not trip herself. Alice sat on the stool, the hat was placed on her head and over her eyes, and she gulped.

" _My my, what a decision."_ A voice echoed in her head and Alice rolled her eyes under the hat.

' _You're telling me.' She replied and the hat chuckled._

' _You certainly have the qualities of a Gryffindor, ranting about what house you get placed in doesn't determine your path, but then you're scared of being placed in slytherin for fear of house stereotypes. What happened to your house does not determine who you are hmm? Wise words, wise words indeed from an 11 year old. Hufflepuff you seem content with oh yes You'd be good there, loyalty and dedication are important to you, but playing by the rules doesn't appeal to you does it? Oh but what great things you can accomplish with slytherin, that ambition to show everyone that your house does not determine who you are, You're cunning and sly, yes little slytherpuff I believe i think i've finally decided where to place you, Alice Kent you'll go on to do great things in_ SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted. Alice's robes shimmered and now she sat with the snakes emblem embroidered into her robes and her tie now green and silver. She locked eyes with Charlie who offered her a small smile and Alice slowly stepped down from the stool and she set her eyes onto the slytherin table, filled with students glaring at her. Alice blinked, took a breath, and smirked as she walked to the slytherin table. She'd do exactly what the hat said, and prove that your house doesn't determine your future.

"James Potter!" Alice pulled her head out of her arms to watch the messy haired boy from earlier swagger to the stool and she smiled. From what she'd seen of the students earlier he'd definitely be placed in Gryffindor, her smile dropped, from what whispers she'd heard from the other students Slytherin and Gryffindor were sworn enemies.

"GRYFFINDOR" The hat called and all traces of her previous smile was wiped off her face.

What about Charlie?

Oh no oh gods oh _bloody hell_ what about charlie?

Alice swallowed the lump that formed in her throat as turned her head and tried to find Charlie in the unsorted students. She felt relieved once she found the smal brunette but her anxiety hadn't left her when she saw she was talking animatedly to a boy. Alice tried waving, receiving looks from the students around her but to no avail, Charlie didn't notice her. Alice sighed and set her arms back on the table, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze she set her head back down on the table.

"We'll be okay." She whispered to herself, bouncing her leg as she waited for Thorn to be called.

"Charlotte Thorn!" Alice's head snapped up as she saw her friend walk to the stool. Charlie sat herself on the stool and locked eyes with Alice before she smiled and the hat was dropped over her eyes. Alice held her breath as she waited for the hat to announce Charlie's house. Charlie was a good person, She'd do well in Hufflepuff, and at least then their houses wouldn't be sworn enemies. She's kind and loyal and she's patient and-

"GRYFFINDOR."

And she's a Gryffindor.

Alice blinked rapidly as the table erupted in cheers and shouts of excitement and congratulations. Charlie had a wide smile on her face as she made her way to the opposite side of the great hall to the lions den.

"Charlie!" She whisper yelled, trying to get her friends attention that fell on deaf ears to earn looks from the students around her again. Alice huffed and searched her robe pockets, moving her wand to find jeremy trying to chew into the wood.

"No!" She gasped as she pulled him from her wand.

"I need you to get Charlie's attention for me, can you do that?" Jeremy twitched his nose and Alice smiled, rubbing circles on his head before she set him down for his task. Alice looked back up to Charlie to see a scowl on her face and Alice grinned. Perhaps she didn't like her fellow Gryffindors as much as Alice had thought. Charlie sat next to James while he talked animatedly around Charlie to a dark haired boy. Her scowl softened as she started conversating with a light brown haired boy that sat in front of her. Alice grimaced, maybe she was wrong. Then suddenly he screamed. A high pitch squeal had made its way to Alice's ears and she watched as the boy James was talking with jumped out of his seat and Charlie moved around him to pluck the small white rat off the bench seat. Charlie glanced in Alice's direction and Alice grinned wide at Charlie as she watched her talk to James and the dark haired boy who had jumped out of fear from Jeremy. Four heads turned in her direction and Alice's grin widened as she waved at Charlie and the three boys, but then she saw James and his dark haired friend's expressions twist into something of dislike, hatred. And then she saw Charlie's expression fall a bit and it was then, on her first night at hogwarts of her first year, she made the decision she didn't like James Potter or his dark haired friend.


	2. Jeremy

II

"It's awful to have your best friend sorted into Gryffindor isn't it?"

Alice snapped her gaze from the back of her brunette friend's head to one of her fellow Slytherin's. He was a young boy with wide brown eyes, a long straight nose, and had dark brown hair that fell just above his shoulders and she had to admit, he was quite adorable. Her eyes glanced back to the back of Charlie's head before she met the boy's gaze, narrowing her eyes at the boy ignoring the color that flared in her cheeks from being caught staring. She hadn't even filled her plate with food while Charlie had been eating and laughing with James and two other friends of his: a light brown haired boy and the black haired boy she had decided she didn't like earlier.

"It's okay, mine was too." He said as he glanced down at his plate, moving his fork around in the mashed potatoes. Alice wanted to scoff at the boy, he didn't understand; she _needed_ Charlie to function properly.

"So what are you? A mudblood?" Alice blinked at the boy, she remembered Charlie saying that word was the one word you were never supposed to say; _ever._

"I suppose I could be," She murmured, ignoring the derogatory term. "I've bounced around the foster care system, you do know what that is right? Or is your blood to pure to know how the _filthy muggle world_ works?" Alice sneered with a raise of her brow at the boy. She watched as his face twisted like he ate something sour, before he grinned slightly and chuckled.

"Actually I'm a halfblood…" He mumbled dejectedly, glancing to the side with a small pout. "But no. I don't know what that is." He told her, beginning to grab at the food laid on the table in front of them. Alice blinked at the boy, unsure by his tone if he still wanted anything to do with her; and hesitantly began to grab the items of food recognizable to her.

"But I'd like to." He mumbled behind his juice filled goblet, his wide brown eyes shimmering with curiosity as he took a sip.

"Oh my god, please tell me they have something here besides pumpkin juice. Please. I hate that stuff. Who in their right bloody mind looked at a pumpkin and thought 'Yeah mate let's put that in the juicer like em' apples and oranges. Ugh." Alice shivered in disgust, but heat rose to her cheeks as she noticed the boy's small amused grin on his face.

"Right, um. What happens when a kid loses their parents?" Alice asked quietly, her previous grin slowly falling from her lips as she wrung her hands in her lap and stared down at the mashed potatoes she had slapped on her plate.

"They go to their next closest family member of course." He scoffed before shoving his meat filled fork into his mouth.

"What if there's no other family members?" She all but whispered, scanning the table for something other than pumpkin juice.

"That's absurd. Everyone's related to someone somehow, second cousins twice removed and all that." He scoffed, his eyes wide and unbelieving.

"In the uh _muggle_ world if a child has no family, is unwanted, or is taken away from their family they end up going to a children's home. An orphanage. Normally couples who have problems having kids will go there to adopt children, babies and young children go the quickest. _Hah_." Alice explained with a bitter laugh while reaching for a large golden pitcher of what she hoped was milk and poured it into her own chalice like cup. Her face lit up in a bright smile as she watched the pitcher of milk start to refill itself. Alice laughed softly to herself, knowing by the books she's read that it was just a never empty charm; but the simple spell still amazed her after seeing it on Mrs. Thorn's kitchen table so many times.

"Did your parents die?" He questioned glancing at Alice and interrupting her childlike glee

"Way to be blunt,"she scoffed and rolled her eyes."But i'm not sure. I was a _rare case_ they called it. Barely 2 months old and left in front of the entrance. I got adopted pretty fast, but the couple brought me back you know. New Mum's in Hysterics because her brand new baby girl was singing the drapes when she cried and floating her toys when she played." Alice sneered, cutting her porkchop a bit roughly and scraping the plate. "It happened more times than they cared to admit to me. So eventually I was put into foster care. Family's will volunteer to take in children, give them a home: A foster home. Most do it because they get money from their local government and it ends up being horrid. But there's also good homes and good families out there. I was bad at controlling my accidental magic so I bounced around family's allot. It's hard at a...muggle school, kids start to notice when your parents aren't there to pick you up everyday, you know? I'd get picked on and have outbursts, it wasn't pretty." Alice grimace shaking her head at the memories and took a sip of milk.

"They got what they deserved." The boy said flatly, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Mmm yes, I guess they did." Alice giggled behind her cup of milk before taking a drink.

"But then in the middle of my third year, i'm terribly excited to get home. My fosters at the time had just gotten a puppy you see? So there I am a mess with my pens floating up off my desk and having to slap them back down before anyone notices. And get this! This little girl, smiling like she knows something, comes up and snatches a pen out of the air right by my face! I was horrified! 'I think this belongs to you' She says to me. Well I bloody well know it belongs to me!" Alice exclaimed. A large smile plastered across her pale, freckled face.

"That was the day I met Charlie. She's my Gryffindor." Alice laughed, her wild emerald eyes shifting from the boy at her side up to find Charlie.

"Her name is Lily. She's a muggleborn and... She's my Gryffindor." He confessed. His voice lowered to barely a whisper as a tinge of pink dusted his cheeks. Alice glanced to the boy beside her and smiled softly before turning her gaze back to Gryffindor table.

"My name is Alice Kent, but none of that last name business yeah? Just Alice." She told him, sighing when she'd fail to catch Charlotte's eye and directing her attention to Jeremy, who had crawled his way back into her lap.

"Severus snape." He said and Alice gawked at him for a second.

"Wizarding names sure are wild. It's 1971 but you'd think the whole wizarding world is stuck in the dark ages. No offense." Alice laughed. "If it's worth it I think your name is nice." Alice watched as the soft pink tinge bloomed across Severus' face again and she laughed, giving Jeremy a small piece of cheese.

"You know I sent him over to get Charlie for me earlier but instead he ended up scaring the pants off of some boy. If I didn't see him scream myself I would have thought it was another girl who screamed." She teased, grinning at the memory and watching Severus laugh as well.

"Yes that was pretty funny. That boy is Sirius Black: A pureblood and the first in the Black family to be sorted outside of Slytherin. It's a shame he didn't bite the bloody git," Severus frowned "It's also shame that your friend has gotten caught up with him and James Potter." Severus mused and Alice craned her neck to see around students until she could find Charlie again.

"James talked to me at the station you know. He seemed pretty nice I guess. And that Back bloke. He gave me the stink eye and I haven't said a word to him! He can't be mad about Jeremy, how was I supposed to know he's scared of a rat? Besides Jeremy's harmless as a fly and he's so cute." Alice cooed, petting the rat in her lap and forking more food into her mouth with her other arm.

"You know, I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship Severus." Alice grinned, pointing her fork at the black haired boy next to her.

"Oh really?" Severus snorted and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Yes _really_." She taunted, stabbing a piece of meat in her plate with more force than necessary.

"What makes you say that?" Severus asked, grinning.

"It's quite obvious. Charlie's also a half blood." She explained him, flashing the same shit eating grin that she had given Charlie this morning and laughing at the bewildered look he had given her.

* * *

Charlotte laughed as she quickly leaned back to avoid the spoonful of peas that James catapulted down the table. James had introduced her to the boys he shared his train compartment with earlier: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew; and unsurprisingly she found herself sat between James Potter himself and Sirius Black, with Remus and Peter in front of them. Her table was filled with loud infectious laughter that kept a smile on her face a she enjoyed her meal. Charlotte still didn't know how to feel about Alice's sorting, the bloody girl had ended up in _Slytherin_ for Merlin's sake. Charlotte didn't know how the poor girl managed to do it, the hat had barely been on her own head for 3 seconds before it sent her into the lion's den. But Alice had sat there probably having a bloody chit chat with the hat, she wouldn't put it past the girl.

" _Chit chat."_ Charlotte scoffed to herself, shaking her head and chuckling around the filled fork she had stuffed into her mouth.

"What was that Thorn?" James asked, glancing down to the small girl next to him.

"Ah nothing. It's just…Alice…" Charlie sighed with a grimace, searching for Alice's dark blond hair among the Slytherins.

"Well the way I see it, she's fallen prey to the snake pit." James declared through a mouth full of food with a shrug of his shoulders. Charlie's eyes widened at the gesture.

"I'm not abandoning her! She may be a right git sometimes but just because she got sorted into _Slytherin_ doesn't mean i'm abandoning her! Honestly, Gryffindor's act like their so much better than Slytherin's just because they're in a different house. You don't even know her, bloody hell you guys talked at Kings Cross and you're still condemning her to this?! This makes you no better than them." Charlie snapped at him. Just how thick could he be?!

"You fraternizing with the enemy, potter?" Sirius joked out between the food in his mouth. Charlie was starting to question if anybody knew not to talk with their mouths full.

"Not on purpose I swear! You shoulda seen it Black. Two girls standing in front of the train looking like lost muggles I tell you. Kent was standing there shouting her bloody head off! ' _A bloody talking hat!_ '" James mocked Alice and Charlie furrowed her brows. That wasn't very nice.

"Yes but didn't you come up to her agreeing with what she said? Besides, Black is basically a manifestation of her beliefs: The first in the family to not be in Slytherin. You knob it's because _he does not share the same characteristics that the house of Slytherin value._ Look, everyone assumes Gryffindors are just a bunch of thick headed idiots who run into everything. That's the courage and nerve showing. Everyone thinks Slytherin is for the dark arts and everyone must be evil. Slytherin values ambition, cunning, shrewdness. It makes sense that someone who has Slytherin characteristics is going to do something big, they're just that kind of person even before they get sorted. Being among multiple students who are alike who is to help you grow as a person and become a better you. Voldemort has done nothing but scare people away from a perfectly fine house, Merlin was a Slytherin...For Merlin's sake!" Charlie huffed, her face now beat red and the two boys next to her laughing at her accidental joke.

"Where you,"they cleared their throat."where you contemplating Ravenclaw?"

Charlie looked up to see Remus Lupin staring at her with a teasing smile on his face. His thick light brown hair was messy on his head but not nearly as bad as James. He was pale with healed scars scattered on his face and dark circles under his eyes, with a scarred button nose in the middle of it all. He was rather cute.

"I thought about it." Charlie teased, smiling at him softly. Remus opened his mouth to respond but instead was cut off with a loud shriek that happened to be right next to her ear.

"What is it?" Charlie rubbed her ear and looked over Sirius to see what the problem could have been, and then she saw it. A small white rat had crawled up Sirius' robes and onto the bench they all sat on, but the poor thing scurried around trying to find somewhere to hide.

"It's only Jeremy. Sirius Black is scared of a rat." Charlie teased as she picked up the small rodent and stroked his back with her fingers. James couldn't keep himself together and from the stifled laughter from across the table Charlie could tell Remus was having a tough time as well..

"You _know_ that bloody thing?!"

" _Shh_. He's already frightened enough you're making it worse. His name is Jeremy, Alice just got him from Diagon Alley this past week." Charlie informed him, peeking around Remus' head to find Alice waving like a mad woman from her table, her mouth open in a large excited smile. Sirius and James followed her line of sight to see the blonde haired witch then looked at eachother, a knowing glint in their eyes and looked back at Alice with matching glares.

"That _little slimy git_."

"We'll get her at breakfast mate."

Charlie's smile faltered. Oh dear.

* * *

 **A/N: How do you guys like it? Please Review. I'm trying to get this as accurate as I can, I found a pretty nifty hogwarts student guide thing on AO3 and it's helped out allot. I'm worried i won't be able to get the characters to my liking. Reviews give me warm fuzzy feelings and motivation. I also just really want to know thoughts and opinions. Anything to help better my writing. I'm trying to keep this as 1970's as i can but i'm also wanting to add modern things to it, muggle electronics and music and whatnot. Let me know what you guys think!**


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